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Ligue 1 round-up: Lyon remain in pole position for second place

Lyon's players celebrate after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match Lyon (OL) vs Ajaccio (GFCA) at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium
Image: Lyon's players celebrate after scoring a goal during the French L1 football match Lyon (OL) vs Ajaccio (GFCA) at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium

Lyon and Monaco made it seemingly a two-horse race for second place in Ligue 1 with wins on Saturday.

With champions Paris Saint-Germain long gone at the top, attention among the chasing pack is focused on securing an automatic place in the Champions League.

Leonardo Jardim's Monaco put the pressure on with a 3-2 win over Guingamp, but Bruno Genesio's Lyon men responded by beating GFC Ajaccio 2-1.

Visiting goalkeeper Clement Maury failed to cover himself in glory for either of Lyon's goals, first being deceived by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa's dummy and allowing Rachid Ghezzal's corner to go straight in, then misjudging Rafael's cross as Gnarly Cornet converted at the far post.

Gregory Pujol's sumptuous goal was a mere consolation for Gazelec, who remain in the thick of the relegation battle.

Monaco's Portuguese midfielder  Joao Moutinho (R) vies for the ball  with Guincamp's French midfielder Younousse Sankhare
Image: Monaco's Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho (R) vies for the ball with Guincamp's French midfielder Younousse Sankhare

Monaco led 2-0 at half-time through Lacina Traore and Nabil Dirar, but needed Bernardo Silva's 76th-minute strike as Mevlut Erding and Brou Angoua scored for the away side.

Fourth-placed St Etienne were held to a goalless draw by Toulouse, but needed a penalty save by Stephane Ruffier from Wissam Ben Yedder to maintain parity and later had Loic Perrin sent off.

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Nice, in fifth, also lost ground as they were beaten 1-0 at Nantes, Adrien Thomasson with the goal.

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